U.S. patent application number 13/098955 was filed with the patent office on 2012-11-08 for product biasing system with low inventory indicator.
Invention is credited to Laurel Thomas, Matthew E. Zacherle.
Application Number | 20120279934 13/098955 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 45953290 |
Filed Date | 2012-11-08 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120279934 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Thomas; Laurel ; et
al. |
November 8, 2012 |
Product Biasing System With Low Inventory Indicator
Abstract
A product biasing system including an elongated rail having a
front end and a rear end, a moveable member slidably engaged with
the rail, and a biasing element operatively connected to the
moveable member to bias the moveable member toward the front end of
the rail, the biasing element being marked with indicia indicative
of the longitudinal displacement of the moveable member relative to
the front end of the rail.
Inventors: |
Thomas; Laurel; (Richmond,
VA) ; Zacherle; Matthew E.; (Richmond, VA) |
Family ID: |
45953290 |
Appl. No.: |
13/098955 |
Filed: |
May 2, 2011 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
211/59.3 ;
40/299.01 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47F 1/126 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
211/59.3 ;
40/299.01 |
International
Class: |
A47F 1/04 20060101
A47F001/04 |
Claims
1. A product biasing system comprising: an elongated rail having a
front end and a rear end; a moveable member slidably engaged with
said rail; and a biasing element operatively connected to said
moveable member to bias said moveable member toward said front end
of said rail, said biasing element being marked with indicia
indicative of a longitudinal displacement of said moveable member
relative to said front end of said rail.
2. The product biasing system of claim 1 wherein said rail defines
an elongated track, and said moveable member is engaged with said
track.
3. The product biasing system of claim 2 wherein said moveable
member comprises a T-shaped member engaged with said track.
4. The product biasing system of claim 1 wherein said front end of
said rail defines a window, and wherein said indicia is viewable
through said window.
5. The product biasing system of claim 1 wherein said moveable
member comprises a base and a face panel, said face panel being
generally perpendicular to said base.
6. The product biasing system of claim 1 wherein said biasing
element comprises a band shaped into a coil, said band having a
free end.
7. The product biasing system of claim 6 wherein said band is
formed from a resilient material.
8. The product biasing system of claim 6 wherein said coil is
connected proximate said front end of said rail, and wherein said
free end of said band is connected to said moveable member.
9. The product biasing system of claim 6 wherein said front end of
said rail defines a window, and wherein at least a portion of said
coil is viewable through said window.
10. The product biasing system of claim 6 wherein said indicia
longitudinally extends along at least a portion of said band.
11. The product biasing system of claim 1 wherein said indicia
comprises at least two different colors.
12. The product biasing system of claim 1 wherein said indicia
comprises text or graphics.
13. The product biasing system of claim 1 further comprising a
plurality of products positioned on said rail between said front
end of said rail and said moveable member, said plurality of
products longitudinally displacing said moveable member from said
front end of said rail.
14. A product biasing system comprising: an elongated rail having a
front end and a rear end; a moveable member slidably engaged with
said rail; and a biasing element comprising a band shaped into a
coil, said band comprising a free end extendable from said coil,
said band being marked with indicia, wherein said coil is connected
proximate said front end of said rail and said free end is
connected to said moveable member to bias said moveable member
toward said front end of said rail, and wherein said indicia is
indicative of a longitudinal displacement of said moveable member
relative to said front end of said rail.
15. The product biasing system of claim 14 wherein said front end
of said rail defines a window, and wherein at least a portion of
said indicia on said band is viewable through said window.
16. The product biasing system of claim 14 wherein said indicia
comprises at least a first color and a second color, said first
color being different than said second color.
17. The product biasing system of claim 16 wherein said front end
of said rail defines a window, and wherein said first color is
viewable through said window when said moveable member is displaced
a first distance from said front end of said rail, and wherein said
second color is viewable through said window when said moveable
member is displaced a second distance from said front end of said
rail.
18. The product biasing system of claim 14 wherein said indicia
longitudinally extends along at least a portion of said band.
19. The product biasing system of claim 14 further comprising a
plurality of products positioned on said rail between said front
end of said rail and said moveable member, said plurality of
products longitudinally displacing said moveable member from said
front end of said rail.
20. A method for determining an inventory level of a display, said
method comprising the steps of: providing a biasing system
comprising: an elongated rail having a front end and a rear end,
said front end defining a window, a moveable member slidably
engaged with said rail, and a biasing element operatively connected
to said moveable member to bias said moveable member toward said
front end of said rail, wherein said biasing element comprises an
elongated band shaped into a coil, said band being marked with
indicia, said indicia varying along said band; positioning a
quantity of products on said rail between said front end of said
rail and said moveable member, said moveable member urging said
products toward said front end of said rail, wherein a low inventor
condition is established when said quantity drops below a
predetermined value; and observing said indicia through said window
to determine whether said low inventor condition has been
established.
Description
FIELD
[0001] This application relates to product displays and, more
particularly, to systems for forward-biasing products to improve
product display.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Point-of-sale display units are commonly used in retail
outlets because they present products in an eye-catching manner. As
products are removed from the display, it may become increasingly
difficult to access the remaining products, particularly when the
remaining products are located at the rear of the display.
[0003] Thus, various techniques have been developed to move
products toward the front of the display, thereby improving product
accessibility. As one example, gravity dispensers feed products
capable of rolling to a product display area at the front of the
dispenser. The products roll to the front of the dispenser under
the force of gravity. As another example, biasing apparatus utilize
a spring-biased sled to urge products toward the front of the
display.
[0004] A specific example of a biasing apparatus that utilizes a
spring-biased sled is described in greater detail in U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 13/049,004 titled "Product Biasing and.
Dispensing System with Security Engagement" filed on Mar. 16, 2011,
the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The biasing apparatus disclosed in U.S. Ser. No. 13/049,004 is
designed to dispense individual products from a container, thereby
eliminating the need for transferring the individual products from
the container to a display, which can be quite time consuming.
[0005] Unfortunately, it often becomes difficult to determine when
a display is empty or sufficiently low in products as to warrant
replenishment (i.e., a low inventory condition). A low inventory
condition may be particularly difficult to detect in a display in
which the individual products are housed in a container.
[0006] Accordingly, those skilled in the art continue with research
and development efforts in the field of product display.
SUMMARY
[0007] In one aspect, the disclosed product biasing system may
include an elongated rail having a front end and a rear end, a
moveable member slidably engaged with the rail, and a biasing
element operatively connected to the moveable member to bias the
moveable member toward the front end of the rail, the biasing
element being marked with indicia indicative of the longitudinal
displacement of the moveable member relative to the front end of
the rail.
[0008] In another aspect, the disclosed product biasing system may
include an elongated rail having a front end and a rear end, a
moveable member slidably engaged with the rail, a product
positioned on the rail between the front end of the rail and the
moveable member, the product longitudinally displacing the moveable
member from the front end of the rail, and a biasing element
operatively connected to the moveable member to bias the moveable
member, and ultimately the product, toward the front end of the
rail, the biasing element being marked with indicia indicative of
the longitudinal displacement of the moveable member from the front
end of the rail.
[0009] In another aspect, the disclosed product biasing system may
include an elongated rail having a front end and a rear end, a
moveable member slidably engaged with the rail, and a biasing
element including a band shaped into a coil, the band having a free
end and being marked with indicia, wherein the coil is connected
proximate the front end of the rail and the free end is connected
to the moveable member to bias the moveable member toward the front
end of the rail, and wherein the indicia is indicative of the
longitudinal displacement of the moveable member relative to the
front end of the rail.
[0010] In yet another aspect, disclosed is a method for determining
an inventory level of a display. The method may include the steps
of (1) providing a biasing system including an elongated rail
having a front end and a rear end, the front end defining a window,
a moveable member slidably engaged with the rail and a biasing
element operatively connected to the moveable member to bias the
moveable member toward the front end of the rail, wherein the
biasing element includes an elongated band shaped into a coil, the
band being marked with indicia that varies along the band; (2)
positioning a quantity of products on the rail between the front
end of the rail and the moveable member, the moveable member urging
the products toward the front end of the rail, wherein a low
inventor condition is established when the quantity drops below a
predetermined value; and (3) observing the indicia through the
window to determine whether the low inventor condition has been
established.
[0011] Other aspects of the disclosed product biasing system with
low inventory indicator will become apparent from the following
description, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of one aspect of the
disclosed product biasing system with low inventory indicator;
[0013] FIG. 2 is a front and side perspective view of the product
biasing system of FIG. 1;
[0014] FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the product biasing
system of FIG. 2;
[0015] FIG. 4 is a side elevational view, in section, of the
forward portion of the product biasing system of FIG. 1;
[0016] FIG. 5 is a rear perspective view of the moveable member of
the product biasing system of FIG. 4;
[0017] FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the biasing element of
the product biasing system of FIG. 4, shown in an extended
configuration;
[0018] FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the biasing element of FIG.
6;
[0019] FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of the biasing element of
FIG. 6, shown in a retracted configuration;
[0020] FIG. 9 is a top plan view of the biasing element of FIG.
8;
[0021] FIG. 10 is a side elevational view of the product biasing
system of FIG. 1, shown in a low inventory condition; and
[0022] FIG. 11 is a front elevational view of the product biasing
system of FIG. 10.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0023] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4, one aspect of the disclosed
product biasing system, generally designated 10, may include a rail
12, a moveable member 14 and a biasing element 16. The biasing
element 16 may be connected to the moveable member 14 to urge the
moveable member 14 toward the front end 18 of the rail 12.
Therefore, the moveable member 14 may urge products 20 positioned
between the front end 18 of the rail 12 and the moveable member 14
toward the front end 18.
[0024] In one particular implementation, the product biasing system
10 may be positioned on a store shelf (not shown) such that the
front end 18 of the rail 12 is positioned proximate (i.e., at or
near) the front edge of the shelf. Therefore, the product biasing
system 10 may urge the products 20 toward the front edge of the
shelf, thereby improving the accessibility of the products 20 to
consumers.
[0025] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the rail 12 may be elongated
along a longitudinal axis A (FIG. 2), and may include the front end
18 and a rear end 22. As shown in FIG. 4, the rail 12 may define a
sliding surface 24 and an elongated track 26 formed in the sliding
surface 24. The elongated track 26 may extend from proximate the
front end 18 of the rail 12 to proximate the rear end 22 of the
rail 12.
[0026] A stop 28 may be positioned proximate the front end 18 of
the rail 12. The stop 28 may prevent (or at least inhibit) forward
longitudinal movement of the products 20 beyond the stop 28.
[0027] Optionally, the stop 28 may be connected to the rail 12 at a
pivot point 30. Therefore, the stop 28 may pivot from the
forward-most configuration (i.e., stopping configuration) shown in
FIG. 1 to a collapsed configuration (not shown) when a rearward
force F (FIG. 1) is applied to the stop 28, such as when a product
20 is being loaded onto the product biasing system 10.
[0028] The products 20 may be positioned on the rail 12 proximate
the front end 18 of the rail 12 such that the products 20 extend in
a longitudinal row along the rail 12. Alternatively, two or more
rows of product 20 may be positioned along the rail 12. While the
products 20 are shown without a container, use of the disclosed
product biasing system 10 to bias products housed in a container is
also contemplated. Use of a biasing system to bias products housed
in a container is described in greater detail in U.S. Ser. No.
13/049,004.
[0029] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that a wide variety
of products 20 may be dispensed with the disclosed product biasing
system 10. As one example, the products 20 may be various
foodstuffs packaged in boxes, cartons, pouches, cans or bottles. As
another example, the products 20 may be various consumer goods, and
may or may not be individually contained in a package, such as a
box, carton, clamshell, pouch or the like. Other examples of
products 20 suitable for being dispensed from the disclosed product
biasing system 10 are left to the skilled artisan.
[0030] The moveable member 14 may be slidably engaged with the rail
12, and may be longitudinally displaceable from the front end 18 of
the rail 12 along the longitudinal axis A (FIG. 2) of the rail 12.
In one particular implementation, the moveable member 14 may be a
sled or the like.
[0031] Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the moveable member 14 may
include a base 32 and a face panel 34 connected to the base 32. The
face panel 34 of the moveable member 14 may extend generally
perpendicularly from the base 32. Optional struts 36, 38 may extend
from the face panel 34 to the base 32 to resist pivotal movement of
the face panel 34 relative to the base 32.
[0032] The base 32 of the moveable member 14 may be slidably
engaged with the rail 12 such that the moveable member 14 may move
longitudinally along the sliding surface 24 of the rail 12 between
the front end 18 and the rear end 22 (FIG. 1) of the rail 12. Those
skilled in the art will appreciate that various techniques may be
used to effect a sliding engagement between the rail 12 and the
moveable member 14, and that variation in the techniques used to
effect such a sliding engagement will not result in a departure
from the scope of the present disclosure.
[0033] As shown in FIG. 5, in one particular construction, the base
32 of the moveable member 14 may include a T-shaped member 40
connected thereto and engaged with the rail 12. The T-shaped member
may include a cross member 42 and a tie member 44 connecting the
cross member 42 to the base 32 of the moveable member 14. The tie
member 44 may extend through the track 26 in the rail 12 such that
a portion of the rail 110 (particularly a portion of the sliding
surface. 24) is positioned between, the base 32 of the moveable
member 14 and the cross member 42. Therefore, the moveable member
14 (particularly the tie member 44) may longitudinally move through
the track 26 in the rail 12, and the cross member 42 may resist
separation of the moveable member 14 from the rail 12.
[0034] The biasing element 16 may be connected to the moveable
member 14 to urge the moveable member 14 toward the front end 18 of
the rail 12. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, a first end 48 of
the biasing element 16 may be connected to the front end 18 of the
rail 12 and a second, free end 50 of the biasing element 16 may be
connected to the moveable member 14. Therefore, the retraction
force of the biasing element 16 may urge the moveable member 14
toward the front end 18 of the rail 12.
[0035] Referring to FIGS. 6-9, in one specific construction, the
biasing element 16 may be formed as a coiled tape spring, and may
include an elongated band 52 wound into a coil 54. The band 52 may
be formed from a resilient material, such as steel, and may be
biased to the relaxed, undrawn configuration shown in FIGS. 8 and
9. Therefore, when the second end 50 of the band 52 is drawn from
the coil 54, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a retraction force R (FIG.
6) may be established that urges the band 52 back to the relaxed,
undrawn configuration shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.
[0036] The exterior surface 56, or at least a portion of the
exterior surface 56, of the band 52 of the biasing element 16 may
be marked with inventory level indicating indicia 58, and the
indicia 58 may vary along the longitudinal length of the band 52.
In the expression shown in FIGS. 6-9, the portion of the exterior
surface 56 of the band 52 extending from point P toward the second
end 50 of the band 52 is marked with cross-hatching (indicia 58),
while the exterior surface 56 of the band 52 extending from point P
toward the first end 48 of the band 52 is free from
cross-hatching.
[0037] Thus, the indicia 58 may provide an indication of the extent
that the band 52 is drawn from the coil 54 by observing the indicia
58 (or lack thereof) at the first end 48 of the biasing element 16.
For example, with the biasing element 16 in the configuration shown
in FIGS. 6 and 7, the first end 48 of the biasing element 16 may be
free from indicia 58, as shown in FIG. 3. The absence of indicia 58
at the first end 48 of the biasing element 16 may indicate that the
second end 50 of the biasing element 16 is sufficiently drawn away
from the coil 54 and, hence, the moveable member 14 is sufficiently
longitudinally displaced from the front end 18 of the rail 12 due
to the presence of products 20 in the system 10. However, with the
biasing element 16 in the configuration shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the
indicia 58 may be viewed at the first end 48 of the biasing element
16, as shown in FIG. 11. The presence of indicia 58 at the first
end 48 of the biasing element 16 may indicate that the second end
50 of the biasing element 16 has been sufficiently retracted to the
coil 54 and, hence, the moveable member 14 has sufficiently
longitudinally approximated the front end 18 of the rail 12
indicating a low inventory condition.
[0038] In a first alternative expression, the indicia 58 may
include a color scheme. For example, the exterior surface 56 of the
band 52 may be marked with the colors green, yellow and red, with
the color transitioning from green, to yellow, and then to red
along the band 52 toward the second end 50 of the band 52.
[0039] In a second alternative expression, the indicia 58 may
include numbers. For example, the exterior surface 56 of the band
52 may be marked with numbers ranging from "0" to "9," with the
numbers consecutively transitioning from "9" to "0" along the band
52 toward the second end 50 of the band 52.
[0040] In a third alternative expression, the indicia 58 may
include text. For example, the exterior surface 56 of the band 52
may be marked with "High," "Medium" and "Low," with the text
transitioning from "High" to "Low" along the band 52 toward the
second end 50 of the band 52.
[0041] In a fourth alternative expression, the indicia 58 may
include images or graphics. For example, the exterior surface 56 of
the band 52 may be marked with "" and "," with the images
transitioning from "" to "" along the band 52 toward the second end
50 of the band 52.
[0042] At this point, those skilled in the art will appreciate that
the biasing element 16 may be marked with various indicia 58 to
indicate the presence or absence of a low inventory condition.
Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the indicia 58
may be presented as a spectrum extending longitudinally along the
band 52 such that a range of conditions between "full" and "low
inventory" may be communicated, thereby providing a more precise
indication of the inventory level of the system 10.
[0043] Referring back to FIG. 4, the coil portion 54 of the biasing
element 16 may be connected to the rail 12 proximate the front end
18 of the rail 12. For example, the coil portion 54 may be received
over a post 60 that transversely extends across the rail 12
proximate the front end 18 of the rail 12.
[0044] Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the second end 50 of the biasing
element 16 may extend from the coil 54 and may be connected to the
moveable member 14. For example, the second end 50 of the biasing
element 16 may define an aperture 62 and the base 32 of the
moveable member 14 may include a protrusion 64 extending therefrom.
The protrusion 64 may extend through the aperture 62 to connect the
second end 50 of the biasing element 16 to the moveable member
14.
[0045] Referring to FIGS. 3 and 11, the front end 18 of the rail 12
may define a window 66 such that the first end 48 of the biasing
element 16, including any indicia 58 thereon, may be visible at the
front end 18 of the rail 12.
[0046] Accordingly, depending on whether the indicia 58 on the
biasing element 16 is visible through the window 66 at the front
end 18 of the rail 12 and/or depending on the type of indicia 58
visible through the window 66, the biasing element 16 may provide
an indication that the product biasing system 10 is filled with
products 20, as shown in FIG. 3, or that a low inventory condition
is present, as shown in FIG. 11.
[0047] Although various aspects of the disclosed product biasing
system with low inventory indicator have been shown and described,
modifications may occur to those skilled in the art upon reading
the specification. The present application includes such
modifications and is limited only by the scope of the claims.
* * * * *